It was her day off, but Ashley Richmond rushed to work filled with excitement and anxiety when she got the Saturday evening call.

It was a day unlike most others, but every day is a wild day for some local residents who recently shared their experiences working at the Detroit Zoo.

For Richmond, the call that came on Aug. 6 was to tell her the zoo’s 7-year-old giraffe, Kivuli, was in labor. Just three and a half hours later, the Farmington Hills resident who cares for Kivuli, as well as her mate Jabari, 8, and their nearly 2-year-old son, Mpenzi, watched the birth of the newest giraffe family member, a 5-foot tall, 166-pound girl named Zawadi.

“Just the people she knows were there, we don’t want it to be stressful,” said Richmond, who was also present for the birth of Mpenzi. “You wait 15 months and hope for everything to go well, for mom and baby to be healthy. It was sort of an out-of-body experience, I was in a daze watching… You want to videotape everything, but at the same time be present in the moment. It was a bonus that it ended up being a girl — that is what we were hoping for. I got teary-eyed, there was relief on my part, I was just glad everything went well and the baby was breathing and stood up after 20 minutes. I had a feeling she would be a spit fire, she was very active inside of her mom.”

This year marks a decade as a zookeeper for Richmond, who in the sixth grade foretold her destiny in a letter to her mom in which she wrote that she wanted to go to Michigan State University, get a degree in zoology, and work at the Detroit Zoo.

She walked that path, although she acknowledges it hasn’t always been easy.

“I am 33, but some days I feel 63,” laughs Richmond, who has cared for the giraffes and kangaroos the majority of her career at the zoo, but also worked in various other areas.

When she interviewed, Richmond didn’t have a preference for which animals she would work with as all of them were captivating. That is the essence of being a zookeeper — building a relationship with animals.

“Every animal I have worked with, there is a level of respect, and with that comes love,” she said. “You learn their behaviors and personality and their comfort level for certain things. You get attached.”

Her relationship with these animals is not like that of a pet, however. She is a caregiver, which involves a lot of manual and physical labor — keeping their environments clean, providing mental stimulation, and feeding them.

Mob mentality

She starts her day at the Australian Outback exhibit at the zoo, where she cares for a mob of 19 red kangaroos, and one Bennett’s wallaby, all of whom have their own names and personalities. Some are laid back while others are curious and sniff Richmond. Others still are stand-offish and head in the other direction as she walks around cleaning their exhibit and feeding them.

They eat what she calls a “kangaroo and wallaby chow,” placed in the shelter area. She also makes interesting changes to their environment, which can include hanging melons as treats, adding spices or perfumes for new odors, and throwing large piles of dirt into their yard for the kangaroos who have a natural urge to dig.

She checks to make sure they aren’t scratching themselves, which could indicate a skin irritation, or doing any odd behaviors. Kangaroos, she adds, are good at masking illness. Even an ear down or angled awkwardly could mean something is amiss with the animal.

“They might come and smell me, but I don’t pet them,” she said. “None of them are hand-reared; they are all parent-reared. It’s a respect thing, and I don’t cross that line… I make sure they are doing what they would be normally at that time and 99 percent of the time, everyone is fine. When you know them so well, you can tell when something is off.”

There are 12 female kangaroos and seven vasectomized males. While the kangaroo exhibit is large, the indoor shelter is at maximum capacity. Kangaroos have a life expectancy to the late teens, as do wallabies.

Zoo staff want to get another wallaby to join the 7-year-old male they obtained six years ago after he and thousands of other animals were rescued from inhumane conditions by an international exotic animal dealer in Texas.

“The situation was very dire and it was a big undertaking,” said Richmond, who adds that the wallaby will not be bred as his genetic background is unknown.

Intense giraffes

There are also no plans to add to the giraffe family. Species Survival Plan coordinators make decisions regarding breeding of animals, with knowledge of genetics and conservation efforts. Kivuli will be on birth control, and no decision has been made yet on whether Zawadi, whose name means “gift” in Swahili, will stay in Detroit.

The reticulated giraffes, which weigh roughly 2,600 pounds when fully grown and can reach up to 18 feet as the tallest land mammal, are easier to transport when they are younger. Their large size also means Richmond spends the majority of her days with the beautiful creatures who spend roughly 17 hours of their day eating and only sleep three hours a day. She has observed them in the wild on a trip to Africa and uses that knowledge for her care of them at the zoo.

“My outback routine is much less intensive than with giraffes,” said Richmond. “I spend about six hours of my day with the giraffes. A 2,600 pound giraffe, they make a big mess every day, I spend a lot of time cleaning up after them. Plus I feed them twice a day. They also get enriched frequently.”

The primary enrichment for giraffes centers around food, with Richmond placing mulberry branches, grape vines, willow branches and more of what she calls “browse” around their exhibit. She cuts very large branches and ties them to different areas of their yard so she doesn’t have to hand feed them all day long and so they use their tongues as much as possible in a natural way.

The giraffes, like the kangaroos, each have their own distinctive personalities as well. Jabari is more interactive and likes being around all people as long as there is a treat involved. Kivuli is the opposite, more timid and apprehensive of strangers, but like Jabari, very smart. Mpenzi tends to be shyer, like his mother, and of course, the personality of the new arrival is not yet known, but Richmond looks forward to getting to know her as well. Regardless, Zawadi, like all giraffes, will require patience, as Richmond notes you can’t really make a giraffe do anything they don’t want to do.

An otter naps at the Detroit Zoo on a recent Sunday.(Photo: Susan Bromley)

That’s OK with the zookeeper though, who still enjoys the job despite the hard labor and a deeper understanding now of what the career entails than when she was a little girl dreaming of working with the animals and when visits to the zoo meant seeing performing chimpanzees and seals.

“That is not something that happens now, and I am thrilled about that,” said Richmond. “I try to look at things more from the animal’s eyes and maybe more than I expected, things have evolved for the better. I love where I work and I love all of our hopes and dreams for the future. It’s really motivating.”

She tries not to think too much about what tomorrow will bring as the job is taxing on her body. She is living for the moment, but notes that as she ages, a change to a less physically demanding position may be in the cards.

Always fascinated by animals, Manfre earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Eastern Michigan University in 2005 and interned at the Toledo Zoo. He started working at the Detroit Zoo more than nine years ago, the first six of them as a zookeeper, caring for warthogs and zebras.

Three years ago, he became mammal supervisor, overseeing carnivores including lions, tigers, otters and wolverines, as well as some of the small mammals like red pandas and bush dogs. He also oversees hoofstock including the zebras and warthogs, camels and bison.

The job entails working with administration and keepers to make sure they are in the position to take the best possible care of these animals. This includes overseeing construction projects on exhibits, renovations, and relocation of animals to accommodate their needs while projects are underway.

“There is not any such thing as a routine day,” said Manfre. “If one of my keepers has a concern with a veterinary issue, I am the first point of contact to get them out there and assess things.”

Recently, Manfre had plans to tie up loose ends at the newly-expanded camel exhibit and then to work on the zookeepers’ schedules, followed by supervisor meetings with his fellow mammal managers.

He has what he considers a good 50/50 mix of administrative work with working alongside the zookeepers —helping with projects or assisting with routine animal check-ups which require anesthesia with the larger animals — and coordinating individuals to make sure everything goes smoothly.

“The best part of my job is just having the opportunity to work with a lot of unique animals,” said Manfre. “The most common thing I hear is that people think zookeeping doesn’t require education or is just picking up poop, when in actuality zookeepers are highly trained. It requires education, expertise and is a very difficult job to get. You definitely need a lot of attention to detail and have to pick up on subtle cues from animals and make quick, good judgment decisions, while being attentive to safety.”

Melissa Pletcher’s job at the zoo is also invaluable, although she works not with the animals, but with human resources for the past six years as the assistant manager of volunteer services.

The Novi resident helps oversee about 1,100 volunteers at the Detroit Zoo, who come from all walks of life, all ages, and all of whom, like herself, are very passionate about animals and people.

Just like the paid employees, the volunteers Pletcher recruits, interviews and trains, are essential to a well-maintained zoo.

“We keep track of everyone’s hours, which is important for a lot of reasons — we use it to measure success,” said Pletcher, who has a master’s degree in general science and has spent her career working for non-profit organizations which prior to the zoo included Cranbrook Institute of Science, the Detroit Science Center, and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. “A lot of times, people ask about our in-kind services and we can tell them we have more than 100,000 hours per year of volunteer service, saving us several million dollars in labor.”

There are 14 volunteer opportunities available, including docents, which are informal teachers; zoo ambassadors, which greet visitors at the entrance, answer questions and also walk throughout the zoo; “penguin people,” whom are stationed in the new Polk Penguin Conservation Center; “the mob squad,” situated within the Australian Outback; gardeners; wildlife gallery guides; Arctic Ring of Life volunteers; and also volunteers off site at the Belle Isle Nature Zoo.

Pletcher said recruitment of volunteers typically takes place from March through June, with training done at the beginning of the summer season, and then a second wave of recruitment begins Sept. 10. The three-step process to becoming a volunteer includes application, a 2-part orientation in which applicants learn about the history of the zoo, volunteer responsibilities, emergency procedures and zoo goals, followed by an interview and a determination of a good assignment match for the volunteer. The process also includes a background check.

“There’s a common misconception that volunteers can feed the animals or can clean up after them,” said Pletcher. “There is no direct contact. We have zookeepers; we are very up front about that. They learn about them and they can see them, which gives them their little fix.”

On a daily basis, about 80 volunteers are needed at the zoo, working in shifts when there are special events, and they are needed year-round, even with gardening, as there are plants in greenhouses, as well as other indoor facilities.

“The interest is higher in the summer, but we are open 362 days a year,” notes Pletcher. “There are only two volunteer roles that don’t occur in winter — zoo ambassadors and the Arctic Ring of Life. Even the kangaroo exhibit is open during winter and we have volunteers who like working in winter.”

The volunteers range in age from 15 to 90. More than 25 percent of the volunteers have been with the zoo for more than a decade. One person has been with the zoo since 1977, when the volunteer program began.

Pletcher loves her job.

“I love working with people and getting to know the volunteers, they’re very dedicated, they’re all animal people like me, but I also love the animals, I love being around them,” she said. “This is truly a great place to work — the people are so passionate about what they do, they care about the animals and about each other, they’re here because they want to be. There is always something to learn here, this is a happy place.”

sbromley@hometownlife.com

A red panda at the Detroit Zoo on a recent Sunday.(Photo: Susan Bromley)